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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

I've been thinking of writing this article for over a week. And with an epic 1000th episode of Monday Night Raw occurring yesterday, I thought that I'd forget writing this article due to the state of wrestling changing so quickly on a weekly basis, it may not have been relevant. But after the events of the milestone episode, it's actually done the opposite. It's made this article even more relevant.

What I want to talk to you about today is this chap you might know if you watch wrestling called John Cena. What a career he has had. 35 years old, he's already a 12 time world champion and he doesn't look like he's losing steam any time soon. He's sold more merchandise in the 2000s than any wrestler, he's attracted more fans to the product more than any other wrestler. Since the days of Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, no one has come really close to the value of John Cena.

People are divided in opinion on John Cena. He's stale, he doesn't sell moves very well, or for very long, his moveset is repetitive and overdone. He's superman, never letting people get over. But he still works his absolute ass off to give as entertaining a product he can possibly give. He cares about wrestling, he cares about the WWE and the fans. There's no denying that. I have a huge amount of respect for the man, despite how certain smarter fans feel about him.

Despite all that John Cena has accomplished, there's just one thing that the man has lacked in his career, in my eyes anyway. And that's a true rivalry. Now before you drop your cereal out of your mouth (or doughnut, hamburger, or any other food you're obviously eating right now, don't deny it), there's someone you might have thought about already - Edge. There's no denying that if there's one man that John Cena can call a rival throughout his career, it's that man.

John Cena and Edge had a long term rivalry from around 2005 to 2010.

They did have some good matches, that's true. The best probably being the TLC Match at Unforgiven 2006. They helped each other become as big stars as they are; John Cena as previously mentioned was the star attraction of the naughties and Edge was one of the finer wrestlers of that decade. They both put each other over many times and had some great segments. Both Edge and John Cena have said in interviews that the other person is their greatest rival in their careers.

So why am I saying Edge isn't the true rival of John Cena? It's hard to explain in some ways. Some key points for me are, for the most part, I don't feel Edge has ever been John Cena's equal. While they did have some very good matches, they had some duds as well. And not only that, but they wrestled each other so often it, similar to Cena's career in some ways, became stale. To have a great rivalry both wrestlers need to be on equal footing in most ways, and I never felt that Edge and Cena really were. Edge was always a step below Cena for most of his career.

What is a true rivalry then? Well the most obvious one to me is Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. While it's well documented that the top star of the Attitude Era was Stone Cold, The Rock was right up there with him. Did The Rock sell as much merchandise or PPVs as Stone Cold? No, I suppose not, although his star power for last year's Wrestlemania was a true shot in that direction. But there is no denying that there were two men that were on top of the Attitude Era and that was those two guys. And they always had amazing matches. Always. Their matches are legendary in the WWE. There's no denying that.

Arguably the greatest wrestling feud in WWE history.

And one thing there is no denying is they were booked quite equally. Sure, Stone Cold didn't put The Rock over until their last match, but the feud, the promos, and the actual wrestling in itself, was equal. The line was drawn very finely; it felt that the only reason why The Rock could not beat Stone Cold was through bad luck, rather than being the inferior wrestler. And the fact that they didn't wrestle against each other very often is another reason why I think it works. John Cena and Edge had countless matches it was boring. I can only think of three or four matches of the top of my head that The Rock and Stone Cold had. I'm sure they may have had more, but it definitely wasn't as many as Edge/Cena.

Which brings me to answer your question of who I think, long term, could be John Cena's truest rival. My answer is simply CM Punk.

There are so many similarities between John Cena and CM Punk and The Rock and Stone Cold. Neither sets of wrestlers wrestled each other often. Cena and The Rock were brought into the WWE by failing at something else first, Cena with bodybuilding and The Rock with American football. CM Punk and Stone Cold had to claw their way to the top of the wrestling ladder; CM Punk had to go through Ring of Honor and had to wait until last year's Summer of Punk before he was finally given the platform to really show what he can do. Stone Cold had failed at WCW and was only brought to the WWE because he was a good technical wrestler, he was never going to be more than an enhancement talent until the amazing 3:16 promo occurred.

The Rock and Stone Cold had fluid matches; they oozed quality for upto half an hour. John Cena and Edge doesn't compare in quality to the Rock/Stone Cold series, not consistently anyway. The Rock, as good a wrestler as he was has a similar problem that John Cena has, in that he had to have the right opponent to have a true quality match. The Rock is a better wrestler overall, at least in my opinion, but still he had that same problem. Where as Stone Cold and CM Punk can have great matches with a variety of opponents. Most importantly, The Rock drove Stone Cold to having world class matches he drove him further than anyone else did in his entire career. I believe John Cena does that with CM Punk. I don't feel Edge did.

CM Punk could be Cena's true rival.

You know what made me think about this? I was so excited to hear about CM Punk vs John Cena last week. Really excited. I loved their two matches last year, at Money in the Bank and at Summerslam. They were the best matches of the year in my opinion, they were so fluid, so special, and you honestly didn't know who was going to win either match. And in the end, CM Punk won both matches. CM Punk walked away champion yesterday as well. Another thing that Stone Cold and CM Punk have in common with their rivals. You get the feeling CM Punk is the bogey wrestler to John Cena that Stone Cold was to The Rock. The Rock has said it himself many times, he didn't feel like he truly was 'the man' until he finally beat Stone Cold. I think it could make a great story to keep CM Punk as Cena's bogey wrestler.

Last night CM Punk turned heel again. At first I was thinking this was a bad move. Why? Because CM Punk is so hot right now in the WWE. He's the first wrestler to finally knock John Cena off merchandise. Sure John Cena is still king of selling the product, but CM Punk is catching up. And shirt sales going in CM Punk's favour is a sign of that. CM Punk, unlike John Cena, is cool with all ages and genders of viewership. It feels inevitable long term that CM Punk might finally be the true top guy in the WWE. The WWE definitely have him as their #2 guy now, finally knocking Randy Orton out of that position. I still feel it may be a bad move, in the respect that CM Punk might be too over to be truly booed. The smarter fans will definitely cheer for him, especially if he does go for this rematch against Cena at Summerslam, which feels inevitable.

But the heel turn, despite of my mixed feelings, means one thing. We should get another, great CM Punk and John Cena match. I don't want Cena/Punk shoved down my throat over the course of the autumn though. One match at Summerslam, and then separate them again. I want John Cena and CM Punk to be the new Rock/Stone Cold. It has truly can be. CM Punk's heel turn, the adjustment in his attitude, makes him opposite Cena again. And of course, it makes him opposite The Rock again, which is another match I desperately want to see at the Royal Rumble. CM Punk/Rock could be great as well.

I'm really looking forward to wrestling again now. John Cena vs CM Punk, Brock Lesnar vs Triple H and Chris Jericho vs Dolph Ziggler seem set for Summerslam. That's an awesome trilogy of matches. I just hope the WWE don't make Cena/Punk stale long term, it has all the ingredients for greatness.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Hey there and welcome to another one of my Mixtapes. This is different however. This is the first time I've remade a Mixtape. Best of Teenage Angst II? Yes, because six years ago I made the Best of Teenage Angst. It was one of my first ever Mixtapes, possibly even the first. Click here to see it.

So why have I remade my Mixtape? Well I listened to it recently and looked at the list of songs, and I just thought it looked wrong. It looked a little dated in some ways; some of the songs were popular back in 2006 and have not really been as good. Obviously songs from the eighties live on, but modern songs die quickly, some of them do anyway. And also, I was looking at some of the songs and wondering what the logic was behind their selections? Johnny Mercyside of six years ago made some odd choices. For instance, why "Killing in the Name" by Rage Against the Machine? That song isn't a song about teenage angst. Is it a rebellion 'fuck you' song? Yes. But that's because they're sticking two fingers up at a lot of problems with the world. They weren't whining about things that weren't fair for kids. They were being adults. I could talk about other songs that aren't in the new list but I'd be here for a while.

So this is the NEW Best of Teenage Angst. New and improved. What is the logic behind the selections of these songs? Well either the lyrical content is a little immature, or aimed at young teenagers. Songs like "I Hate People" by Anti-Nowhere League is an example about how silly the lyrical content is. But then you have "I'm Eighteen" by Alice Cooper in here, a song that deals with the dilemmas of teenage life. "I'm a boy and I'm a man, I'm eighteen and I get confused everyday". So hopefully that explains it.

Don't know much about Mixtapes? Here are the rules.

A Mixtape is a playlist of a certain genre, band or era. The
list is generally 80 minutes long, the same length of a blank CD, with further
recommendations if some of the songs aren't to your taste. Remember kids,
downloading is wrong!

So here we go! Best of Teenage Angst II! Also, this
Mixtape is now available to listen to fully on YouTube so subscribe to me if you want to listen to it properly.

Orange Font - Artist was featured in 'Best of Teenage Angst I', but song has changed

So that's the new and improved Best of Teenage Angst! What songs can you think of that makes you think of teenage life, for good or bad? Comment below. Also do you think it's a better list of songs? Let me know. That's it from me, have a good day!

Monday, July 09, 2012

Here we are then. The Top 10 Final Fantasy Locations, at least in my eyes anyway. There's been a huge variety of areas we've covered so far already, across all the games. It's been fun. If you've missed them click here for #20 to #11, here for #30 to #21, here for #40 to #31 and here for #50 to #41.

So what are my favourite 10 locations of my favourite video game series ever? Let's count them down.

Please note: This list will talk about
spoilers. If you have not played the game that each location represents
I'd avoid that entry.

#10: Deling CityGame? Final Fantasy VIII When do you go? Not far into the game as Laguna in a flashback, and a bit later on in modern timeRevisitable? Yes, until time compression occursDescription: A very cool cosmopolitan city, the capital of Galbadia, it's dark for most of the year due to the climate and has a Presidential Residence, a grand hotel and many luxurious streets.

Ah, Deling City. What a place. Apparently this place was inspired by Paris in France in its design and it's hard not to see why. It just looks so cool. So cool. And of course, this is another choice that's definitely inspired by its amazing music. That's the icing on the cake of cool. I'd love to come to Deling City if it existed in real life. I suppose I better go to Paris then, it's the best I'm going to get really. The story that happens here is naturally important, and it's a big swerve in the events as well, as it serves as the place where Ultimecia, in Edea's form, starts to try and take over the world. Of course when you're here you don't know that and think Edea is the main antagonist. Either way Deling City is amazing.

#9: Wall MarketGame? Final Fantasy VIIWhen do you go? Very early onRevisitable? Yes, but only much later in the game onwardsDescription:
A shopping centre of sorts, it's one of the most bustling places in Midgar. As well as having its own clothes shop and gym, it also has its own adult club. It's called Wall Market as there's a huge wall here that is actually used to climb above the Midgar plate and straight to Shinra Headquarters.

I've often said during the course of this listing that some places are chosen because of its sheer beautify and not because of storyline events. But this place, Wall Market, is chosen for exactly that reason. What happens in Wall Market... stays in Wall Market. Poor Cloud, poor poor Cloud! The dressing up as a woman scene is one of the funniest moments in the entire series of Final Fantasy. Especially if Don Corneo actually chooses him as his 'bride', then it gets even more funny! And of course, the Honey Bee Inn is classic. It's times like the Honey Bee Inn when Squaresoft completely justifies its 15+ rating on the game. It's just so wrong, some of the things that can happen there. Wall Market is an awesome time in the game, it stays long in the memory, what happens here.

#8: LindblumGame? Final Fantasy IXWhen do you go? Quite early on, and a little later after thatRevisitable? YesDescription: Actually the biggest city in Final Fantasy IX, although it's nothing on other places in other games. A decent sized city with the bet technology in the game, the city is seperated into different Districts. It has its own Regent and force, a force that's considered the strongest in the game until Queen Brahne starts producing Black Mages which shakes the forces of the world of Gaia during the course of the game.

Another cool city in Final Fantasy is Lindblum. It's a different cool to Deling City though, it's just such a nice place. It has a good castle, and the streets have lots of markets and the people just seem really happy for the most part. Tantalus, the crew that Zidane is from, reside here, as does the amazing Regent Cid, one of my favourite Cid's in the Final Fantasy series. A lot of story progression occurs here, and it's a base in parts for your party for some spells of the game. Lindblum is just such a lovely, welcoming city, one that I absolutely adore.

#7: Figaro CastleGame? Final Fantasy VIWhen do you go? Very early on, a little later, and towards the end of the gameRevisitable? YesDescription: On the surface, Edgar's castle is just that, a castle. But Edgar being the huge technological wizard that he is, has given his castle a few perks, the main one being able to travel underground to another continent.

There is one main reason why I love Figaro Castle, and that's because the man, the legend himself, Edgar resides here. The man is a legendary Final Fantasy character, by far the best womaniser in the series. And some of the best moments in the story of Final Fantasy VI are in this castle; when he flirts with Terra and even better, when you come here following a suspicious man who calls himself Gerad (Edgar in bad disguise). The castle itself and its awesome theme are cool of course; the castle being able to move underground is pretty funky and a bit of a surprise when you see it happen for the first time. Figaro Castle is just one of the best places in Final Fantasy history in my eyes.

Figaro Castle is the fifth and last entry from Final Fantasy VI in this list.

#6: Black Mage VillageGame? Final Fantasy IXWhen do you go? Half way through the game, a little later, and towards the end of the gameRevisitable? Yes Description:
A magically hidden village where the Black Mages who were once puppets of war, have retreated to live the rest of their short lives in peace. Later on the Genomes, who have had a similar experience in terms of being used by a master of sorts, also take home here.

The Black Mage Village gets this high on my list because as a place it's cool and also the storyline progression here is amazing. You learn so much here, about the Black Mages, about Vivi and the Genomes come here later on. It's just a true place of Gaia that you feel is completely safe that has a calm atmosphere, and the music helps to that again of course. The Black Mages are terribly scared that Zidane and company have found their secret hideout but soon learn their motives. Mr 288 (all the Black Mages are numbered) is a leader of sorts in the village, and he discusses life philosophy heavily in this village. His words and views on life are really cool if not sad, and really make you think about real life. Things like that make this place so memorable. And of course, the birth of Bobby Corwen is awesome too! Best chocobo name ever!

#5: Balamb GardenGame? Final Fantasy VIIIWhen do you go? Right at the beginning and many times throughout the gameRevisitable? Yes, until time compression occursDescription:
A large school of sorts, students learn and train how to fight here with the hope of once becoming SeeD, mercenaries who help settle global unrest. Later on it's discovered that it's also a mobile ship and is used as one.

There is absolutely no dispute about Balamb Garden being one of the Final Fantasy series most recognisable landmarks. Probably no place in Final Fantasy VIII is as easily memorable as this place. You start the game here, you come back here many times throughout the game and it's your base for pretty much the whole game. A lot of storyline progression naturally occurs here, and it's just a really cool place. I wish I went to school here. The music is so peaceful as well of course. Man I love Balamb Garden.

#4: AlexandriaGame? Final Fantasy IX When do you go? Right in the beginning of the game, towards the middle of the game and later againRevisitable? YesDescription:
A city and nation ruled by a monarchy; Queen Brahne on the throne until Princess Garnet, or Dagger, claims it. The story starts here. A bustling city with a large castle, Alexandria is one of the main places in the game.

I love Alexandria. It's another one of those places that I'd love to live in. Everything is cute or gorgeous, depending on where you go. I love the castle, it's absolutely stunning, and the town centre itself is pretty damn cool too. Vivi's little journey here early on is just great, you can't help but love him there and then right from the off. Of course the scenes with Zidane and Steiner also make it brilliant. And of course, who can forget Beatrix, she can serve me any day... Alexandria, another staple landmark of the Final Fantasy series is also one of my favourite places, and I place it at number four.

#3: NibelheimGame? Final Fantasy VIIWhen do you go? In flashbacks quite early on, in modern time towards the middle of the gameRevisitable? YesDescription: A small village next to a mountain, some of the most important events in the history of the game happen here. Cloud and Tifa's hometime, it's burnt down by Sephiroth when he goes crazy on a murderous rampage. The Shinra Manor, one of the creepiest looking places in the Final Fantasy series, also resides here.

I don't know how naive any of you were on your first visit to Nibelheim, but remember I was very young when I played this game. After hearing Cloud's amazing story, I totally expected this place to be a big pile of burnt ashes. When you stumble across Nibelheim in game, and you see everything completely put back together, like nothing ever happened, I was just so shocked. And confused. Squaresoft really pulled a fantastic plot twist here when they made it seem like nothing had ever changed, but of course, it was Shinra, trying to hide their flaws and failures, who rebuilt the village back to the way it was, and got decent actors to make people believe that no fire ever occured there.

And then you have the Shinra Manor. Man that place is just so creepy, the music, the things that happen there, the experiments, everything. It's an amazing yet horrible place, haunted by the past. I love it. Nibelheim is a truly mindblowing little place, its history and distinct appearance will forever be engraved in my head.

Nibelheim is the seventh and last entry from Final Fantasy VII in this list.

#2: TrenoGame? Final Fantasy IXWhen do you go? Towards the middle of the game and a little later onRevisitable? YesDescription: A town in permanent night time, separated by excessively rich nobles and bones dry poor peasants. It hosts its own auction, card tournament amongst other things. Doctor Tot resides here.

Now if I were to try and narrow down one place I'd love to live in a Final Fantasy game, it probably would be Treno. As a noble obviously. You've got the gorgeous night light, an awesome auction and card tournament, Doctor Tot to rely upon if you need help with something, if you were feeling adventurous you could take on the master's pet and you could kick peasants for entertainment. Okay I'm exaggerating a little here but Treno is just such a cool place. Sure the contrast of the economy isn't nice, but that aside it's a brilliant place. One of my favourite moments in the entire game happen here, when Baku keeps on getting Doctor Tot's name wrong. Such a funny moment in the game. I just can't help but love Treno, I love coming here it's just brilliant.

Treno is the tenth and last entry from Final Fantasy IX in this list.

Okay, we're at the end now. Let's just recap from #50 to #2:

#50 - Pandaemonium (II)

#49 - Faultwarrens (XIII)

#48 - World of Darkness (III)

#47 - Giza Plains (XII)

#46 - Chaos Shrine (I)

#45 - Macalania Forest (X)

#44 - Lunar Subterrane (IV)

#43 - Orphan's Cradle (XIII)

#42 - Edea's Orphanage (VIII)

#41 - Archylte Steppe (XIII)

#40 - Northern Cave (VII)

#39 - South Figaro (VI)

#38 - Rabanastre (XII)

#37 - Forgotten Capital (VII)

#36 - Magitek Research Facility (VI)

#35 - Moonflow (X)

#34 - Lake Bresha (XIII)

#33 - Iifa Tree (IX)

#32 - Shumi Village (VIII)

#31 - Gold Saucer (VII)

#30 - Nautilus (XIII)

#29 - Besaid (X)

#28 - Daguerreo (IX)

#27 - Shinra Headquarters (VII)

#26 - Ship Graveyard (V)

#25 - Zanarkand (X)

#24 - Sulyya Springs (XIII)

#23 - Bhujerba (XII)

#22 - Bran Bal (IX)

#21 - Bodhum (XIII)

#20 - Giruvegan (XII)

#19 - Dali (IX)

#18 - Esthar (VIII)

#17 - Calm Lands (X)

#16 - Memoria (IX)

#15 - Narshe (VI)

#14 - Cosmo Canyon (VII)

#13 - Oerba (XIII)

#12 - Zozo (VI)

#11 - Conde Petie (IX)

#10 - Deling City (VIII)

#9 - Wall Market (VII)

#8 - Lindblum (IX)

#7 - Figaro Castle (VI)

#6 - Black Mage Village (IX)

#5 - Balamb Garden (VIII)

#4 - Alexandria (IX)

#3 - Nibelheim (VII)

#2 - Treno (IX)

Here we are then. My favourite Final Fantasy location of all time is...

#1: Ultimecia's CastleGame? Final Fantasy VIIIWhen do you go? The final dungeon in the gameRevisitable? NoDescription: An exceedingly grand, chilling, maze-like castle. Ultimecia lives here, as do all of her minions, who have your powers. Some of the locations in this castle are the grand hall with a huge chandelier, a wine cellar, a courtyard, a treasure room, an art gallery, a prison, an armoury, a chapel, a waterway, and a clock tower. Ultimecia, lurks deep in the final area, the master room.

What a place Ultimecia's Castle is. Ultimecia as a villain doesn't deserve such an amazing place to hide in. This is more suited to say, Kefka, or Sephiroth. Regardless of my feelings for Ultimecia this castle is my favourite place in the series. Everything about it is perfect. I love the grand staircase when you arrive, the cobwebs dripping from the banisters and ornaments. The art gallery is creepy and the pictures are cool. Getting trapped in the prison gives you an 'oh crap' moment. The clock tower is excellent. I just love this castle. I wish it was mine. It's just feels like Squaresoft pulled all the stops to make it the biggest, grandest castle ever imagined when they came up with it. Everything about it reeks of class and terror. You can't help but wonder how many people or things Ultimecia and her minions may have murdered in cold blood in this place, and in different parts of the castle. It's terrifying. But I love it and it's my favourite place in the Final Fantasy series.

Ultimecia's Castle is the sixth and last entry from Final Fantasy VIII in this list.

And that's the end. Thanks for joining me count down my favourite 50 Final Fantasy Locations. It's been a blast. I love this series so much, I'm sure you noticed. While it's highly debated that the Final Fantasy series is not getting any better, one thing for me that keeps the series together are its amazing locations. Proof of that is the splendid places made in Final Fantasy XII and XIII. Some have critised one or both games, I'm one of those people. But regardless of the game and its flaws, the locations, man, they're just beautiful. You can't deny that. Thanks once again for joining me. There's one more thing I want to do, and that's to point you to My Top 50 Final Fantasy Characters listing that I did nearly two years ago, if you haven't seen it. Have a good night.

Sunday, July 08, 2012

Welcome to Part 4 of 5, of My Top 50 Final Fantasy Locations listing. Sorry I didn't post this yesterday, I had completely forgotten to do so!

We're approaching crunch time now. These places before you are places in the Final Fantasy series that are absolutely amazing, in a variety of different ways. Today I count from #20 to #11, if you've missed them click here for #30 to #21, here for #40 to #31 and here for #50 to #41. Let's do the Top 20!

Please note: This list will talk about
spoilers. If you have not played the game that each location represents
I'd avoid that entry.

#20: GiruveganGame? Final Fantasy XII When do you go? Towards the end of the gameRevisitable? Yes Description: An ancient city, completely out of vision due to large quantities of Mist covering the place. It's completely indoors and is basically a large pit, and at the bottom is The Great Crystal. However this pit is in darkness, and has many lights and designs that bright up in its black surroundings.

I don't know if it's just me; no one else really talks about it, but I find Giruvegan absolutely stunning to look at. I remember playing hours and hours of Final Fantasy XII, boring as hell as it is at times (Don't deny it, FF12 can be boring for long periods of time) and then getting to Giruvegan and just being taken aback by its beauty. Just panning the camera across the terrain, looking at its darkness, its lights, and I had to take a moment to take it all in. It's just damn beautiful. The Great Crystal is pretty cool too, but when you enter Giruvegan, seriously, look around you. Look at what you can see. You'll appreciate it. For some reason not many people talk about this place as much as me, which is a damn shame as it deserves a big mention for being as awesome as it is, in my eyes anyway.

Giruvegan is the fourth and last entry from Final Fantasy XII in this list.

#19: DaliGame? Final Fantasy IXWhen do you go? Very early onRevisitable? YesDescription:
A very small village, which its main landmark is its windmill. It looks like an ordinary village with normal villagers, but underneath the surface all the men in the village are producing a Black Mage Army for Queen Brahne to use to take over the Mist Continent.

I love Dali. It's such a cute little place, and the first place that seems to make Vivi even remotely happy, until of course, he's mistaken for one of the Black Mages that are being made for war. Vivi loves windmills. What makes Dali so amazing is its lovely music; it's so nice and warming, you wish music like that was played in your house when you go home. Well I do anyway. And I really wish in a certain way the horrible things that do end up happening in Dali never happen, as it's just such a nice little place. But this is Final Fantasy after all, so it would have been wrong if every thing was nice and perfect here. Man, I love Dali.

#18: Esthar CityGame? Final Fantasy VIIIWhen do you go? Completely optional, from half way through the game onwardsRevisitable? YesDescription: Possibly the biggest, highest technological city in the history of Final Fantasy. A monstrosity of a city filled with large blue buildings, super fast cars and large surface roads.

What's the opposite to Dali? Probably Esthar. Remember I said earlier that Rabanastre to scale is possibly one of the biggest places in all of Final Fantasy? Well this, I'm almost certain, is the king. Esthar is just a beast. It covers such a large area, I've never seen an area in a Final Fantasy world map cover such a large patch. Just look at it! It's big and blue! So big. It's got to be bigger than Rabanastre, than Eden, than Zanarkand, than Midgar. It's just untouchable. And it also has the coolest president in the history of Final Fantasy too, in Laguna. You just can't beat Esthar.

#17: Calm LandsGame? Final Fantasy XWhen do you go? Approaching the end of the gameRevisitable? YesDescription: A huge plain of grass that's usually used as a place of celebration for the world of Spira for when Sin is defeated. It has an iconic 'scar' towards the end of the plain where Sin fell in a climatic battle with one of the Final Aeons many years ago.

The Calm Lands may not look like much but it says something that they made the Archylte Steppe after it, only three games after the original. Its concept is simple yet effective, it marks the beginning of the end of the story of Final Fantasy X. The Archylte Steppe's purpose is pretty much the same for FF13. But you can do so much here; you can grind your characters abilities well here, you have a lot of side quests that stem from here, amongst other things. You come to the Calm Lands in the story only once, but chances are you'll spend a lot of time here as it has such a good purpose and is so big, that there's so much to do. It's a truly grand Final Fantasy location.

Calm Lands is the fifth and last entry from Final Fantasy X in this list.

#16: MemoriaGame? Final Fantasy IXWhen do you go? Final dungeon (unless you count The Crystal World seperately, then it's the penultimate location)Revisitable? Yes (when retreating from The Crystal World anyway)Description:
A load of locations meshed into one, formed from the memories of all the characters, and that of time itself.

Memoria is one of my favourite final dungeons. I see it as the final dungeon of Final Fantasy IX, the Crystal World is so short it's hardly a dungeon is it? Memoria is an amazing place. I love the fact that you have this amazing story of Final Fantasy IX, that all of the characters take part in, all of the locations, the dreams, the experiences, everything, and it's all meshed into one location at the end. You have some very significant places in Memoria, some that you will recognise instantly, others are quite discrete. It's a fascinating area and I love it.

#15: NarsheGame? Final Fantasy VIWhen do you go? Right at the beginning and a little later onRevisitable? YesDescription: A coal mining town, trying to maintain neutrality in the game's tensions between the Empire and the Resistance, but leans towards the latter discretely. An esper is discovered here and its appearance sparks the beginning of the game.

Narshe will always hold a strong place in my heart, it all begins here and it's a cool little town. As Final Fantasy VI towns go they don't look that great, primarily because the graphics weren't as good back then, but Narshe's blue roofed buildings make it stand out more than the others. All of the steam coming out from the chimneys, and the coal mine to boot, it's distinct in the context of the game. You can come back here in the World of Ruin but it's just lifeless, which I suppose is fitting of the time of the game when its in utter chaos. Either way Narshe is a cool little place, and if you ask anyone who has played Final Fantasy VI, chances are they'll agree with me.

#14: Cosmo CanyonGame? Final Fantasy VIIWhen do you go? Towards the middle of the game and towards the end of the gameRevisitable? YesDescription: A pilgrimage site for those who seek to learn about The Planet and its cycle, it's also the hometown of Red XIII and his 'grandfather', Bugenhagen.

Want to know if someone actually is legitimately someone who likes Final Fantasy VII? Ask them about Cosmo Canyon. Lots of things get mentioned about FF7, the death of Aerith, One Winged Angel, Cloud's spiky hair, but nearly all the true FF7 fans know and love Cosmo Canyon. And what do proper FF7 fans love more than Cosmo Canyon? The amazing theme for Cosmo Canyon! What a song. That being said Cosmo Canyon is so cool, the storyline progression that happens here is so cool too, and most importantly, Buganhagen is too cool. That man is just a legend. Cosmo Canyon is not a place that I'd like to live if I could, but would I love to visit here if possible? You damned right.

#13: OerbaGame? Final Fantasy XIIIWhen do you go? Very late on in the gameRevisitable? YesDescription: What was once Vanille and Fang's hometown, described by them as a lovely place to go to, is now a dead, desolate abandoned village. Oerba is so lifeless that it snows crystal dust.

I admit, even playing Final Fantasy XIII as an adult, I bought into Vanille and Fang's story that on the other side of Gran Pulse would be a bustling town full of people to greet and welcome the two best friends home. I was naive. I should have expected Square-Enix to dash the character's hopes of returning to the place they called home and make it horrible. But I never did. And when I saw Oerba, my heart sunk. It's horrible. It's an absolutely horrible place. WHY SQUARE-ENIX WHY?! WHY DO THAT?! It's so mean! Oerba is an amazing place, it's what Zanarkand should have been really. Yes I think they did a better job of Oerba than they did Zanarkand. Oerba is so dead, so lacking in anything that it even snows crystal dust. That's just horrible. But under all that horribleness is what was once a town. I think that's the hardest bit. The fact that you can see pretty much everything in its natural state, just rotting. It's not destroyed by a fire or sucked up, or a pile of rubble. It's like everyone just... disappeared. I love what Square-Enix did to Oerba, love and hate it. It's an amazing place.

Oerba is the eighth and last entry from Final Fantasy XIII in this list.

#12: ZozoGame? Final Fantasy VIWhen do you go? Towards the middle of the gameRevisitable? YesDescription: A town that's completely overrun by thieves and criminals. One of the few places in the entire series where it permanently rains. Everyone in the town are incapable of telling the truth and random encounters happen everywhere, a rarity for a Final Fantasy town.

As horrible a place Zozo is, it's also pretty damn cool. I love coming to Zozo, even the random battles don't bother me. I think it's the music again. Music is so important in a video game as it really sets the tone. I love the fact that everyone lies here, it makes for an interesting experience. I don't really know what else to say other than I love Zozo.

#11: Conde PetieGame? Final Fantasy IXWhen do you go? Half way through the gameRevisitable? Yes, until it is blocked off by Iifa Tree roots when Mist surrounds all over GaiaDescription: The village of the dwarven race. A single building across two of Iifa Tree roots, it's a passage from the Black Mage Village to Madain Sari and the Iifa Tree itself.

I can describe this place in a single word - Rally-ho! Rally-ho! Rally-ho! I love this place. It's such a brief blip that you actually spend here, but in that time the amount of comedy Squaresoft stirred up is just magical. I love the dwarves, who refuse to let you in unless you say Rally-ho!, I love their way of speech, which is almost spelt like how people in Scotland speak, I love the fact that the only way to get to the other side of the village is by getting married, and how Zidane reacts when Dagger agrees, and I love the fact that Quina doesn't understand the logic of having to buy food. But the best moment in the 15 minutes you spend here is the option of getting Vivi and Quina married. It's just one of the funniest moments in Final Fantasy history. I mean it. It's just classic. I so happy...

And we've arrived at the Top 10. I hope you've been enjoying going through these locations with me. I've enjoyed writing about them that's for sure. One more part left to go. What will I crown #1 in my favourite locations of the Final Fantasy series? Find out tomorrow. Have a good night!

Friday, July 06, 2012

Hey there, thanks for joining me bang in the middle of My Top 50 Final Fantasy Locations list. Today I count from #30 to #21 in my list, yesterday I did #40 to #31 and the day before I did #50 to #41 if you missed them. No more talk let's continue!

Please note: This list will talk about
spoilers. If you have not played the game that each location represents
I'd avoid that entry.

#30: NautilusGame? Final Fantasy XIII When do you go? Towards the middle of the gameRevisitable? No Description: Also called "The City of Dreams", Nautilus is the best place on the world of Cocoon for entertainment; it has an amusement park, nice green walks and most impressively, the Pompa Sancta parade which is a true dramatic 3D battle sequence of the War of Transgression.

So much happens at Nautilus. Two of my favourite FF13 characters, Sazh and Vanille, come here to try and hide from all the chaos surrounding them being branded l'Cie yet some of the most climatic and tense scenes in the entire game happen here. Before all of that, the beautiful Pompa Sancta parade occurs and it's mind blowing how gorgeous it looks, kudos to Square Enix for that. Then, Vanille comes clean about being responsible for Dajh, Sazh's son, being branded l'Cie, just after Dajh turns into crystal right in front of his fathers eyes. It's truly a sad scene, really sad, and the idea that Sazh was going to commit suicide there and then is horrifying as well. All of this, in The City of Dreams. It's an amazing place with a fantastic shift in the story.

#29: BesaidGame? Final Fantasy XWhen do you go? Very early onRevisitable? YesDescription: An island, the official starting point of the pilgrimage; to bring Yuna to Zanarkand to defeat Sin. Yuna, Kimahri, Wakka and Lulu live on the island, which has a gorgeous beach, a river and a village with a temple.

Ah, Besaid. It's such a beautiful place, so calm, so tranquil. It's probably in my Top 5 places I'd love to live if I lived in a Final Fantasy world. Your true journey starts here, after the Dream Zanarkand sequence, the dangers at Baaj Temple and running into the Al Bhed crew. The pilgrimage starts here, as does meeting most of the characters of the game. It's just such a nice place, and it all really starts here.

#28: DaguerreoGame? Final Fantasy IXWhen do you go? Completely optional, from half way through the game onwardsRevisitable? YesDescription: A very large library of sorts, flooded by the natural location of the waterfalls above it.

Daguerrero, like Shumi Village in FF8 before it, is completely optional but that's not to say no care or thoughts have been put into its location, Daguerrero is just such a cute little place you can't easily dislike it. It's a bizarre concept; a gigantic indoor library... flooded by waterfalls being directly above it. It doesn't make sense? Yet Squresoft make it work so well. You can get some really strong equipment for your characters here, and this is the last time you see Gilgamesh, although you have to work really hard throughout the game for him to reveal his true identity. It's just a lovely little place with nice, comforting music to boot.

#27: Shinra HeadquartersGame? Final Fantasy VIIWhen do you go? Quite early onRevisitable? Yes, but only once and it's optionalDescription: The headquarters of the Shinra company, the tallest location in all of Midgar, high above the plate that separates Midgar into eight sectors. Seventy floors tall, President Shinra's personal office is at the top.

I was debating whether or not to make Midgar one entire entry in this list or separate parts of it and put those parts in my list. I went with the latter. That being said there's only two parts of Midgar that make the list, this one and... you'll find out won't you? Anyway, the attack on Shina Headquarters is still pretty epic, and the layout of the building is pretty cool. I love the dialogue between Cloud, Tifa and Barret if you decide to take the side entrance, it had me in stitches the first time I saw the scene. And of course, Jenova's journey to Northern Crater to reunite with Sephiroth starts here too. When you play this game for the first time, as a very young kid, I remember thinking that this was close to the end of the game, that we were going to destroy Shinra and the credits would roll. In reality of course, this is just the beginning, and the real story truly unfolds here.

#26: Ship GraveyardGame? Final Fantasy VWhen do you go? Quite early in the gameRevisitable? NoDescription:
A load of ships completely destroyed by large sea attacks, that is full of ghosts and other beasties, hoping to take your party down with them.

If you've been paying attention you may have noticed that there was no entry so far in the list from Final Fantasy V, a game in the series that while isn't bad by any stretch, isn't really that impressive either. But I absolutely love the Ship Graveyard, and that's why it's so high in my list. I just think that part of the story when Syldra gets sucked into a maelstrom and you barely survive the journey, only to find yourself on a haunted ship full of ghosts and other deadly beings pretty cool. I like the map of the place where you go through the ships full of water, having to hop on nearby stones to get from one ship to another in some parts is great. And of course, at the end, when you finally find land, to have to take on the deadly Siren, who was possessing all the undead all along, was is a good payoff.

Ship Graveyard is the first and only entry from Final Fantasy V in this list.

#25: ZanarkandGame? Final Fantasy XWhen do you go? Right at the beginning and very close to the endRevisitable? YesDescription: In actuality, there are two Zanarkands, one was a huge city with many buildings, a huge night scene and lots and lots of blitzball and other high technological activities. After being destroyed by Sin, Zanarkand is a huge shell of its former self, crumbling and decaying, and serves as the final point in Yuna's pilgramage. The other Zanarkand, is the huge city explained above, yet it's only a dream, and does not actually exist. Tidus is part of this dream location

While there are two Zanarkands in FF10, let's get something straight, Dream Zanarkand is an incarnation of the real Zanarkand that did exist a thousand years before the game's plot. So for me, I'm treating it as one location. The contrasts between Zanarkand one thousand years ago and the current Zanarkand is astronomical. Zanarkand of old looked like such an awesome place to live, all the glitz and glamour, all the blitzball you could ever want yet the current Zanarkand is just one of the most depressing places in Final Fantasy history. So much death, so much decay, so much rubble it can make you feel really sad going to the current state of Zanarkand. And for people like me, I was always intrigued to know what Zanarkand you would see at the end of the pilgrimage. Of course, it was never in doubt what you would see at the end of the journey, but you did hope of course, that it wouldn't be the case. Zanarkand is one of Final Fantasy's most amazing locations, there's no doubt about that.

#24: Sulyya SpringsGame? Final Fantasy XIIIWhen do you go? Quite late in the gameRevisitable? YesDescription: A large natural spring that is protected by the fal'Cie Bismarck and is a natural habitat for lots of overgrown frogs. The location is a short bridge between Mah'habara Subterra and Taejin's Tower.

This is one of the areas in the series that's in this list because of its location rather than any plot or story that occurs here. I absolutely love the design of the Sulyya Springs. It's such a gorgeous place and that music is just so beautiful and suits the mood perfectly. It looks so good that you can almost feel the warmth of the water and climate on your face when playing it. Okay maybe not but you get the idea.

#23: BhujerbaGame? Final Fantasy XIIWhen do you go? Quite early on in the gameRevisitable? YesDescription: A gorgeous floating city in the sky, the Marquis resides here and tries his best to maintain neutrality in the game's two main nations. It contains its own mine and has a lot of natural greenery, as well as a decent sized city centre.

In terms of the cities of Final Fantasy XII, this is by far the best looking one. Bhujerba is just stunning. The idea of a floating continent, or city, is not a new thing, they've tried a few times to make a floating 'something' in the series. But they really pulled off all the stops with Bhujerba, it's just magnificent to look at. The Lhusu Mines are pretty cool too, but it's just the look of the city, the clouds surrounding the city, the scenery, everything about it, is just mindblowingly cool.

#22: Bran BalGame? Final Fantasy IXWhen do you go? Quite late in the gameRevisitable? NoDescription: The only village on the planet of Terra, the planet trying to take over Gaia in FF9. It's Zidane's true origin of birth, as well as Kuja's, and all of the Genomes race.

Bran Bal, or Terra in general (Bran Bal is about 90% of what's left of Terra) is one of the view places that truly gives me goosebumps when I go there. It's a hard concept to do, making another planet other than your own. And while Terra isn't really much of a planet due to its dying state, you still get a good taste of what life was like through Bran Bal. Life was pretty damn crap don't get me wrong, but as a place it looks amazing. So much blue, so much foreign looking plants and odd shaped houses and vessels, it's a true place of beauty in the universe of Final Fantasy IX. I love it.

#21: BodhumGame? Final Fantasy XIIIWhen do you go? Only through flashbacks, not once do you go to Bodhum in the gameRevisitable? NoDescription: The home of Lightning, Serah and Snow, Bodhum is a stunning seaside town that gives an incredible look of the sunset whilst holdig an annual fireworks display to the residents of Cocoon.

It might be considered odd not only to include Bodhum but to place it so high in my favourite places of Final Fantasy but I just think it looks so damn good. It's like an improved Besaid from Final Fantasy X, and seems like the perfect place to chill and hang out. You do get to control Snow here through a particular flashback and from that alone I love the look of this area. Square-Enix did a great job of making this place look as good as it does and it's a shame you don't get to explore it any more than you do.

Three parts down, two to go. What are my favourite 20 locations of the Final Fantasy series? Come back tomorrow when I reveal the first half of them. Take care and have a good one.

Thursday, July 05, 2012

Welcome to Part 2 of 5 of My Top 50 Final Fantasy Locations list. Yesterday I gave you from #50 to #41 so today we'll naturally go from #40 to #31. Let's get straight to it!

Please note: This list will talk about
spoilers. If you have not played the game that each location represents
I'd avoid that entry.

#40: Northern CaveGame? Final Fantasy VII When do you go? Final dungeonRevisitable? No Description: A large cave. Simple. Well not really, there's a lot of history in this cave. Jenova landed here when she arrived on The Planet and for the entirety of Final Fantasy VII this is actually where Sephiroth is; it was Jenova using images of Sephiroth throughout the game. The cave itself isn't anything special until you get to The Planet's Core, where your final battles with Jenova and Sephiroth take place.

The fact that Northern Crater, the final chapter in the amazingness that is the story of Final Fantasy VII lacks so much in grandeur definitely knocks it down to 40th place in my list. Don't get me wrong, because I've played this game so many times I know every nook and cranny of this cave, but you can't help but feel a lack of inspiration for three quarters of the time you spend here. The payoff at the end is amazing of course The Planet's Core truly is a place of gruseome beauty, but Squaresoft didn't really pull all the stops to make you feel like you were going to enter anything other than a bog standard cave for the most part. Which is a shame.

#39: South FigaroGame? Final Fantasy VIWhen do you go? Very early on, towards the middle of the game and towards the endRevisitable? YesDescription: A regular Final Fantay VI town in some ways, but with lots of events happening here and with it being the first town you can properly visit, it's quite a memorable place.

You go here three times, firstly you go through it early on when you're on your way to the Returners Hideout, then you come here a bit later on and recruit Celes, and then lastly you go through here after Kefka destroys the world and are suspicious of a mane named Gerad, who is a badly disguised Edgar. I just love South Figaro, it's a pleasant FF6 town considering for the most part its under Empire law, and the fact that many cut scenes throughout the game happen here makes it an important place to go.

#38: RabanastreGame? Final Fantasy XIIWhen do you go? At the beginning, and many times throughout the gameRevisitable? YesDescription: A very large city, probably to scale one of the biggest and most busy cities in the history of Final Fantasy.

You probably visit Rabanastre of Final Fantasy XII more than any place in the history of Final Fantasy, if we're not including airships and the like. You go here very often during the entire course of the game, it's arguably your 'home', if there was one. It's where Vaan and Penelo are from, two of the main characters of the game. It's just a very iconic city, everything about it, the size, the story line progression, the music, everything about it you'll not forget easily. Almost to the point where it's annoying actually, but I don't think it goes that far really, otherwise it wouldn't be in this list!

#37: Forgotten CapitalGame? Final Fantasy VIIWhen do you go? Nearly half way through the game, and towards the endRevisitable? YesDescription: A small mythical city completely in ruins, once belonging to the Ancients, houses still intact yet desolate.

It goes without saying that this place serves witness to one of the most iconic moments in video gaming, the death of Aerith. As a place it's not really that amazing in my eyes, as beautiful as it is, but the scene that will be mentioned over and over again as one of video games most horrific moments; when Sephiroth drives his long and slender sword through the back of Aerith, mercilessly, that happened here, it has to mentioned amongst my Top 50. It's a very short area yet some of the landmarks are just unforgettable, particularly the lake and of course, the Cetra castle and altar in which the above happens.

#36: Magitek Research FacilityGame? Final Fantasy VIWhen do you go? Nearly half way through the gameRevisitable? NoDescription:
A rusty, gritty, filthy research lab, where The Empire conduct life-threatening experiments on the Espers.

The Magitek Research Facility has one of the best in-game songs of Final Fantasy VI, and yes, that does form a big part of why I put it in this list. But it's also a big part of the first half of Final Fantasy VI, the infiltration of the research facility and going to Vector in general, marks the first time you're really taking it to The Empire. What you find happening here however was not what was bargained for; seeing six Espers being completely drained of life in test tubes is a pretty damn horrible scene, and not done justice in a Super Nintendo game (which makes me point to my article on Why I Want a Final Fantasy VI Remake). The Magitek Research Facility is definitely one of the more intriguing places in Final Fantasy VI.

#35: MoonflowGame? Final Fantasy XWhen do you go? Approaching half way through the gameRevisitable? YesDescription:
A large river that separates Spira into two halves; you cross the river to get to the Northern parts of Spira. A huge surge of pyreflies make the river glow at night, creating a beautiful scene that many of the people of Spira hold in high regard.

The Moonflow is another one of those places in Final Fantasy that are just so damn beautiful. Squaresoft/Square Enix truly know how to pull of imaginary places and make you wish so bad that they were real. You don't spend that long here in Final Fantasy X, but a few things happen, you recruit Rikku permanently (one of my favourite female characters), you see Shoopufs and Hypellos for the first time, (and I loves the Hypello yesh yesh) and Auron tells you of an awesome story about when Jecht came here for the first time. It's just a good little place storyline wise, and scenery wise, it's damn gorgeous.

#34: Lake BreshaGame? Final Fantasy XIIIWhen do you go? Very early in the gameRevisitable? NoDescription: Once a lake, when the party land on Lake Bresha it is completely crystallised due to the fal'Cie Anima, landing here, defeated by you previously.

You have to walk on this crystallised lake to reach the Vile Peaks, but more importantly than that is the storyline that occurs here. It's here that your party realises they're branded l'Cie and will turn into monsters or crystal. They all bicker and fight, taking out their frustrations on each other before taking it out on the PSICOM soliders who are trying to capture them. Snow stays put, having found his girlfriend, Serah, turned to crystal. All of this happens on Lake Bresha, which in its crystallised state, is a damn beautiful sight.

#33: Iifa TreeGame? Final Fantasy IXWhen do you go? Towards the middle of the game, and after the final battleRevisitable? YesDescription: On appearance it's a large tree but in actuality it's the source of all the Mist in Final Fantasy IX, and is the filter of the souls of Gaia.

The Iifa Tree is such an important part of Final Fantasy IX. So many things happen on the Iifa Tree, in the Iifa Tree or because of the Iifa Tree. It's an ugly thing yet there's that certain weird beauty about it, it's fundamental in FF9. So important in fact that you find yourself back here when you deal with the final bad guys. It's just one of the true landmarks of FF9 and its look stands out so much.

#42: Shumi VillageGame? Final Fantasy VIIIWhen do you go? Completely optional, from half way through the game onwardsRevisitable? YesDescription:
A village built 323 meters underground that is host to the species of Shumi and Moombas.

I love the Shumi Village. It's so quirky and random that you can't help but like it. Most of the stuff that happens here is pointless, bar some small hints that Laguna once visited here, but the Shumi Tribe are lovely people and of course, Moombas are the cutest Final Fantasy creature never to appear in a second major FF title (bar its cameo as one of Lulu's dolls in FF10). You just can't help yourself, admit it, the Shumi Village kicks ass.

#31: Gold SaucerGame? Final Fantasy VIIWhen do you go? Twice, towards the middle of the gameRevisitable? YesDescription: An enormous amusement park and a huge tourist attraction, it's built directly over Old Corel, where Barret and a few other characters where born.

Ah, the Gold Saucer. So much happens here and it's so flashy and awesome that you just can't ignore it. Some people love it some people hate it. I lean more towards the former, I love playing a lot of the mini games here and the storyline progression here is pretty good, not to mention the awesome combination of dates possible with Cloud on the Gondola! It's just a great part of the game, the two times you come here, at least I think so.

And... that's enough for today. Part 3 of
my Top 50 Final Fantasy Locations listing will be posted tomorrow. Until then have a good night.

Click here for #30 to #21.Click here for #20 to #11.Click here for #10 to #1.